1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to target illuminators and laser sights incorporated into a magazine tube and barrel clamp, wherein an original capacity of the magazine is maintained.
2. Description of Related Art
Law enforcement and military organizations often find it necessary to perform armed operations in darkness or low-light conditions. To ensure that their mission is carried out properly, successfully and safely, the operational personnel often employ flashlights to illuminate a potential target in the event use of a weapon becomes necessary. However, it is awkward and restrictive to hold a flashlight in one hand and a weapon in the other. Consequently, flashlight attachments to weapons have been developed, wherein a flashlight is actually mounted on the weapon, pointing the same direction as the barrel of the weapon, so that a potential target can be illuminated by pointing the weapon generally in the direction of the target with one hand, leaving the other hand free. Ordinarily, such devices provide for the flashlight to be removably mounted on the weapon so that it does not limit weapon flexibility when the flashlight is not needed.
Various devices have been developed for removably mounting a flashlight on a weapon. For example, Sharrah et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,555; Christiansen U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,683; and Fell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,875 all disclose devices for attachment of a flashlight to the bottom of the handgrip of a handgun. However, these devices can interfere with gripping the handgun, render holstering the handgun difficult, and require either that the flashlight be switched on, or actuated, with a hand other than the gripping hand or by a dedicated switch disposed on the handgrip.
It is now common in law enforcement and certain military operations for weapons to be equipped with a laser sighting device, that is, a laser mounted on the weapon that propagates a relatively narrow, intense laser light beam to a target so as to produce a spot on the target essentially where the projectile will intercept the target if the weapon is discharged. This enables the weapon to be aimed precisely by pointing the weapon so that the spot lies on the target at the point where the person using the weapon wants the projectile to strike the target. Such a laser sighting device is disclosed, for example, in Toole et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,091.
While a laser sighting device provides an aiming function, it does not provide an illuminating function. Consequently, it is often desirable to equip a weapon with both a laser sight and a target illuminator, such as a flashlight attachment. Both of these types of devices require electrical power.
Other flashlight attachment devices have been designed for mounting either on the barrel of a rifle or under the barrel and frame of a handgun. In the case of a handgun, the flashlight is typically attached to a forward portion of the handgun frame. A device of this type is shown by Teetzel U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,105. In Teetzel, a flashlight is removably mounted on a laser sighting device that is attached under the barrel and frame of a weapon, and the flashlight attachment can be actuated simultaneously with the laser sighting device by an infrared light source in the sighting device coupled to the flashlight attachment. However, a drawback to this approach is that a physical connection between the handgrip and the front part of the frame of the weapon is required to switch the laser and flashlight on from the handgrip. Such a connection, whether by electrical wiring, optical waveguide, or mechanical link adds weight, may require undue modification of the weapon, and can be inconvenient.
Therefore, a need remains for a target illuminator that cooperatively engages the firearm, without reducing capacity of the firearm. The need also exists for a combined target illuminator and laser sight assembly that can be readily attached to the firearm, without significantly increasing the footprint of the firearm. A further need exists for controlling the target illuminator and laser sight so as to capture the available performance of both the target illuminator and the laser sight. A need also exists for a laser sight assembly that can be quickly coupled to the firearm without impeding the functionality of the firearm, and further wherein the assembly increases at least a local structural integrity of the firearm.